Year 11 student Oliver Bora will launch the next phase of his ethical, organic, free-range egg business, Oliver's Hens, next week and the hype is building. With the support of the School, Oliver has been working hard over the past year, developing his business idea, incorporating his different school subjects, attending community programs, working with local business owners and involving other students."I have learnt that following your passion and finding a project of interest to you allows you to get the most out of your education," says Oliver."By relating subject tasks and assignments to my business idea, I have been able to explore paths that will lead me beyond school. For example, in English, rather than write a short story, I wrote my crowdfunding video script and developed the whole crowdfunding campaign."I have involved my peers at school as much as possible. Rather than employ an external filmmaker I worked with a talented Year 8 student from my school, to bring my vision to life. "I created a logo competition and invited students from Year 1 to Year 12 to enter their designs. Seeing the excitement on the children's faces as they submitted their work made me realise that this project is bigger than me. "I want to inspire other students to follow their passion and think about education in a new way. "In the future I see my business supporting other young startups in the local community, with funds from my egg sales going directly towards an enterprise competition that I will run for school students."Details of how you can support Oliver's initiative will be released on Tuesday August 28, when he will launch his crowdfunding campaign. We hope the whole School and wider community will continue to get behind Oliver at this vital stage of his project and support sustainable farming in our region. Watch this space!

What is a pirate's favourite letter?R?You’d think so… but actually it’s the C!This term the Year 11 Marine Studies students have been working towards obtaining their boat licences, venturing out on the School boat with Nick, to tick off their practical hours. Last week, they sat their theory exam and all passed. This week, they headed down to the Roads and Maritime Centre in Ballina to finalise the paperwork and pick up their new licences.The Year 12s have worked hard to complete their Personal Interest Projects, which will be on display at the HSC Showcase at the beginning of next month. There was a wide variety of projects submitted, from cool colouring books to slick hydro foils, emotion art pieces, inspiring business ideas and much more.The students working towards their Advanced Dive certificate clocked up more diving hours last week with Gerard. Learning to navigate underwater along the bottom of the Tweed River, the students removed a large volume of fishing line in the process, a perfect segue into our next unit of Commercial and Recreational Fishing. The students are hooked.Emma SweeneyHigh School Sport Coordinator

Congratulations Silver Diamonds, Athletics Champions 2018, you proved that when placed under pressure, you shine brightest! Shearwater's 2018 Carnival was a great day and those who attended competed in a happy and humble manner, with a total of 38 records broken on the day - a record of records. Matilda Vial from Class 5 equalled one and broke three individual records, as did Monica Brandolini in Year 10. Tali Sloane from Year 11 finished the day on a high note, smashing the school high jump record in front of a captivated crowd.A big thank you to all the staff who helped out on the day. It’s a big day and can only happen with help from many people. Special thanks to the grounds crew who were there from start to finish. A big thank you also goes to the Year 11 student helpers, they did a great job, not only helping run many of the events but also participating and setting a great example for the younger students. Thanks to the sun for shining all day.Congratulations to the 45 students who qualified for the NCIS Regional Athletics Championships, held down in Coffs Harbour this week. Watch this space for more details!

This week is the Children's Book Council of Australia's 2018 Book Week when, schools, libraries, booksellers, authors, illustrators and children celebrate Australian children's literature. At Shearwater, students across the Primary School have been making treasure boxes that showcase the things in their lives they treasure. The growing display in the library is a beautiful, heartwarming and eclectic expression of what we love. Book Day has been postponed until Thursday September 6, when Primary students are encouraged to come to School dressed as their favourite book character. Upper Primary students are asked to choose characters and books appropriate to the younger classes. No movie characters please (unless they began their life in a book!). Happy reading!

Shearwater's Class 6 students have recently undertaken an educational tour of the national capital. Students were given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage and democracy.The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their civics and citizenship education. To assist the School in meeting the cost of this camp, the Australian Government contributed funding for students under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program. The rebate is paid directly to the School upon completion of the excursion.We visited the War Memorial, Old Parliament House and the Parliamentary Education Office at Parliament House where the class passed a mock bill for a sustainable alternative energy car and fuel rebate. We then ventured onward to the Snowy Mountains and had an incredible week of skiing where we experienced many different kinds of snow, including fluffy, light snow flakes that landed on eyelashes; small round polystyrene snow flakes;sleet; icy dagger flakes and stinging and wind-driven icicle flakes!As well as the snow, we had two lovely days of clear blue skies with deep, soft, easy to ski snow. Everyone (except for one with a sprained ankle), learned to ski or snow board or both, and enjoyed the experience.Many thanks to everyone who helped make this a memorable journey.Cathy JonesClass 6 Teacher

We have been very busy at Playgroup this term, thanks to lots of teamwork and help. We have been experimenting with making our own stepping stones, leading from the veranda of Rosewood Cottage, over the bridge and eventually to the cubby house and sandpit. We've still got quite a bit of work ahead of us, but it is a lot of fun and it looks great too. Thanks to Beverley Clark for the inspiration and materials for our stepping stones project and for donating silk that she dyed with her wonderful color experience. Big thank yous also to Vanessa, for expertly sewing the two big pieces of silk together, and to Ken for digging in all our pavers.Carina HalidayPlaygroup Coordinator

Congratulations to Year 9 student Lucy Alati who was named Queensland State Medium Dressage Champion when she competed for Shearwater at the recent inter-school equestrian championships held at Caboolture. The event attracts hundreds of competitors, who must have achieved two qualifying scores at two separate events, and is held over five days. Due to Shearwater's proximity to the border, Lucy is able to compete in the Queensland competition, rather than travelling to Sydney. Last year Lucy was the National Inter-school Novice Champion. This year, she jumped up two levels and competed in the Medium level dressage. Lucy was awarded an embroidered rug and a perpetual trophy which will have her name and the school’s name on it. She was given the opportunity to compete at the national titles in Victoria. But unfortunately the event clashes with the Year 9 camp to the Northern Territory next month. Well done Lucy!

Shearwater's strings teachers recently had the privilege of attending a workshop organised by the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) Collective at the Linnaeus Estate. The event was facilitated by the ACO Inspire Quartet (Peter Clark, Jenny Khafagi, William Clark, Paul Zambrowarny). The ACO has a continued commitment to supporting the development of young string players in regional areas throughout Australia, by running workshops and educational programs free of charge. In attendance were members of the Chamber Strings based at the Conservatorium in Lismore and students of the strings program at Mt. St. Patrick College, Murwillumbah. Both groups are directed by renowned strings educator, conductor and artistic director Michael McCabe.The 3-hour strings workshop was a wonderful platform for both students and local educators to learn and observe rehearsal and performance techniques, alongside some of Australia’s highest calibre musicians. It was a great opportunity for us to attend a strings-specific professional development session which encouraged positive learning and a deeper understanding of the place, purpose and style of music. We hope to integrate and explore these ideas in our own approach to music education and ensemble work this term.One of the main areas of focus throughout the workshop was the encouragement of positive feelings in music through physical and character changes to suit different styles of music. For example, students were lead to play Mozart with fancy flare, and Bartok as a labouring peasant. The enthusiastic team-teaching approach allowed the quartet members to bounce off one another, thus allowing for a greater understanding and emphasis of the different points made.Emphasis was also placed on the importance of listening and leadership within the group. Both during sectional tutorials and ensemble work, use was made of group leadership and individualistic ensemble listening activities. This in turn allowed for the students to effectively work together embodying different musical aspects (dynamics, right and left hand techniques, expression) in their creation of music.Throughout the workshop, the Inspire Quartet demonstrated the different points being made to the students through performance. This was inspiring to experience, as the students were given both visual and auditory examples through which to shape their own music. Energised demonstrations were engaging for all in attendance, not only modelling a great teaching tool, but also the difference in the students’ approaches before and after the demonstration.The workshop culminated in a performance which parents were invited to attend. It was fantastic to witness the progress in musical expression and understanding which students achieved in the space of a morning.We look forward to a continued involvement with the ACO in future years and hope to involve some of our more advanced players in future workshop opportunities.The Shearwater Strings team

Well, what a transformation in our garden over the holidays! A big thank you to all of the busy bees who gave their time and effort to help to make our playground come to life. And an extra BIG thank you to Alex, Bel, Malika and Huon for their vision and dedication. From all the children, now and to come... our deepest appreciation.Susan’s group discovered the cubby house and it was a huge hit... it became a house, a cafe, a food stall, a caravan. The children swept and cleaned and watered the plants, they made a path and a garden, and came up with some great ideas for extensions, having picked up on the enthusiasm, creative inspiration and imagination that poured into every corner, detail and brush stroke - a veranda, front steps, two levels, an umbrella for their cafe and many more wonderful ideas.The new boat, Bella Rosa, took Susan's whole class on a journey together across the silvery seas, amidst the frolicking whales. A few children fell overboard and Officer Elias jumped in the rough seas to rescue them while the deck crew all gathered together with their ropes to offer support.Then, Sandy’s group went fishing on the boat. They gathered some logs to have a fire and cooked up a feast. I'm sure there will be many more adventures to come!Craig d'ArcyPreschool Coordinator

Dawn, and a stunning sunrise on Pele, a small island off the north east coast of Efete, in Vanuatu. Here to help build a community amenities block and see what we could learn from the local people, our Year 10s arrived by boat in the dark, to a warm welcome. A well-concealed look of concern from Luke, our parent builder, as he surveyed the work site - a bare patch of sand, as opposed to the promised slab and concrete blocks, albeit with a spectacular view of the neighbouring island of Emoa, to our east, with its extinct volcano and crater lagoon. A clean slate so to speak.But after church and a fun-filled weekend meeting local families, playing with the young children and orientating ourselves to the village and “suburbs”, John Alfred’s call went out to the young fellows of the village, to extract themselves from their relaxed weekend of World Cup football, and assemble for work. The concrete work began with the collection of coral sand from the beach, a chemistry lesson in itself, and with much laughter and graceful shovelling (inspired by our years of eurthmy), the slab was poured, blocks made and construction commenced.While a small but enthusiastic crew rotated on the building site, others did a beach clean up and collected shells and glass for a decorative mosaic on our building.Afternoons with Anna the local Preschool teacher, were spent weaving baskets and mats from coconut fronds and pandanus and hearing stories of how island life can be affected by the weather, especially extreme events likes Cyclone Pam in 2015 which resulted in food shortages and wiped out the pandanus, thus no woven mats for wedding business.We helped our host families with food preparation - making lap-lap (grated cassava, yam or banana combined with coconut cream) and grating coconuts for making coconut oil. Apart from the few extras included to cater for our fussy Australian tastes, the people of Pele consume very little in the way of processed food, with the average household only spending around $12 a week on groceries - an eye-opening experience for the students, in comparison to our more extravagant lifestyles. House gardens of island cabbage, papayas, bananas and cassava supplied many of our meals. Some of the class set out to try and map the village of Lounamoa, to help our orientation process in this new environment. Offers of gardening trips up the hill manifested into a series of excursions to harvest yams, plant cassava (manioc), kumara (sweet potato) and some advanced coconut seedlings, and before we had the chance to think about being exhausted, there was the standard offer of green coconuts to drink, tops sliced off as quick as they could be picked. Young machete-wielding children offered us ‘navel nuts’ displaying skill and dexterity, mastered from an extremely early age. The students spent a couple of days out on a trimaran, scuba diving under the watchful eye of Gerard, Loaki and Peter, off the coast of Efete and Hat Island, where fabled 13th century leader Roymata was buried with his entourage.Coral regeneration projects at Worisiviu involved making wire cages and concrete pads coated in sand to secure coral shoots for rejuvenating parts of the reef decimated by the crown of thorns starfish - inspiration for further research projects for some students.Exposed to the south-east trade winds which blow at this time of year, we sought shelter some days on the lee of the island at Piliura where we drank the odd coconut and trained our hermit crabs for racing, gazing across at neighbouring islands and contemplating extending our travels (if only we had more time). Lots of walking, eating largely unrefined foods, exposure to fresh salt air, and plenty of time talking in groups had the class back to a nearly normal social standing.Another wonderful camp, measured not only by what we take and give, but by what we can learn from these gracious, generous and welcoming people. Thanks once again to all those who support this form of education.Robert Sutherland​Year 10 Guardian

Student reflectionPele Island and all that this new experience embodied gave us precious life long gifts. As we learnt about the culture of the Ni-Vanuatu, our views on the world and humanity expanded. We accomplished this by creating connections, learning from and living with the villagers who inhabited the island. Being suddenly immersed into a completely different environment and culture has its challenges, but also its overwhelming opportunities for personal growth and discovery. As the steady flow of days passed by, each day brought us new insights into their culture, day to day lives, traditional foods, practises and their relationship with each other and the environment. One of the first and most significant things I noticed was the village’s incredible sense of community. The islanders all contribute to village life in their own way. From the moment of our arrival this shared characteristic of acceptance and belonging extended to us. We were joyfully welcomed into different families and cared for as if we were their own. This resulted in us sharing a strong bond with our families and their children over the two weeks. Despite the challenges of having a language barrier, we spent time together, getting to know each other, asking questions and sharing laughs. By the end, I can confidently say that many of us felt as if we were leaving a second family. Another significant highlight for me was experiencing various forms of traditional Ni-Vanuatu foods. Everyday, we were met with an abundance of paw paw, lap lap, pomela, cassasva, coconut, island cabbage, sweet yam, sweet potato and a range of other foods. Some I enjoyed; others not so much. We even had the opportunity to help them plant some of their root vegetables on a few occasions.It was interesting to observe the simplistic way of life for people in the community of Pele Island, in the developing country of Vanuatu. It gave us a different perspective on our luxurious lifestyles in Australia. The local people were content with minimal technology (no wifi), locally grown foods from the island, fishing, cooking, looking after their kids, and going to church every Sunday. If anything, it introduced a sense of newfound appreciation and gratitude into our lives, as well as getting us to question what really is of value. The two weeks on Pele Island was a profoundly humbling experience, in which I learnt many life lessons from the culture and the islanders. I hope to bring aspects of their beautiful sense of contribution and simplicity into my day to day mindset and life.​Grace Chance​Year 10